Symptomatic isolated axillary lymph node sarcoidosis: an unusual presentation

BMJ Case Rep. 2021 Sep 6;14(9):e244775. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-244775.

Abstract

An 82-year-old woman admitted following a 4-week history of feeling unwell, abdominal pain and constipation. Initial investigations revealed severe hypercalcaemia with suppressed parathyroid hormone and elevated 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. ACE was also raised. CT scans of the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis were normal. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography scan showed metabolically active right axillary lymphadenopathy which when biopsied under ultrasound guidance confirmed sarcoidosis. The patient was started on high-dose prednisolone with resolution of symptoms within 2 weeks. Isolated lymph node sarcoidosis is uncommon, and the reported usual sites are lymph nodes in the head and neck. Rarely has it been reported in the axillary lymph nodes.

Keywords: calcium and bone; pathology.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Axilla
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Humans
  • Lymph Nodes / diagnostic imaging
  • Sarcoidosis* / diagnosis
  • Sarcoidosis* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18